Recovery and Goal Setting for the New Year
For many of us, the holidays are a time of “too much.” It’s a time of too much sugar, too much alcohol, and too much sitting around. It’s easy to feel defeated when old habits creep in and goals are delayed. However, the New Year is a natural time to hit the “reset” button and imagine what is possible moving forward. Here are a few tips for recovering from the holidays.
Forgive yourself and move on.
It’s crucial to avoid dwelling on the past. Regretting our food choices of two weeks ago does nothing to help us in our food choices today. We can’t change the past, but we can choose the present. NOW is a great time to throw out the sugar!
Create goals that feel attainable.
It’s great to have big goals, but it’s important to break our bigger goals down into smaller ones to start. You may want to lose 50 pounds, start exercising every day, cut out all the sugar, and start meditating 30 minutes a day, but giving yourself all of these goals upfront will likely lead to discouragement and burnout. You can break these down to small steps that lead to the larger goal:
Larger Goal: Lose fifty pounds.
Small Step: Lose five pounds this month.
Larger Goal: Exercise 30 minutes a day.
Small Step: Exercise 3 times this week for 15 minutes each session.
Larger Goal: Cut out all added sugar.
Small Step: Stop eating dessert.
Larger Goal: Meditate 30 minutes everyday.
Small Step: Meditate for 5 minutes before bed three nights this week.
Give yourself time to detox.
Holiday indulgences create a high insulin level in the body that will linger into the post-season. It takes time for the insulin level to come down to a normal level. This means that your appetite and cravings will remain high the first several days as you attempt to resume your routine. Don’t be discouraged if you struggle to get back to your pre-holiday healthy eating routine on day one. It’s expected! Cut back gradually for the first few days. It’s similar to the experience of taking a break from a fitness schedule. If you don’t exercise for months, you can’t follow the same workout routine you had before the break! You need to work for days to see the gradual return of your strength, stamina, and mobility. It’s the same concept with changes in nutrition. The more change necessary; the slower we actually need to go. This is not to say that we should hold onto the junk. Cutting out sugar and processed food is a must. However, we can work up to optimal nutrition while keeping it doable.
Fat-fasting is a great tool.
Fat-fasting entails choosing three to four foods that mostly consist of fat and ONLY eating those foods. Wait until you are hungry before eating. Once you are hungry, eat these three or four foods exclusively until you are full. For example, only eat bacon, eggs, and avocado. Meals predominately consisting of fat are satiating, help your insulin decline, and decrease cravings. The repetition and limited food choices will naturally control portions as you detox from the overconsumption of carbs and sugar. You can do this simple life-hack for days or even weeks. Fat-fasting can also be used as a bridge to the successful implementation of an intermittent fasting schedule.
The most important thing to remember is you CAN make changes and you are WORTH those changes.
It’s important to recognize that habits, although hard to break, can be replaced by better habits. The first step is to choose better health for yourself and then take it one day at a time.
